If you went shopping for a new car last month and found the prices higher than usual, you weren't imagining things. According to KBB, transaction prices climbed a full percentage point between September and October of 2013.

Lexus’ new RC luxury coupe has been one of the industry’s worst kept secrets, with patent filings of the car’s name discovered more than a year ago, and prototypes spotted in the wild for almost as long. Now, finally, Lexus has revealed its RC ahead of the car’s official world debut at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show on November 20.

Chevrolet has revived its Cheyenne name, first used as a trim package for its C/K pickup back in 1971 and more recently in 2003 for a forward-looking pickup concept. The latest use of the name is for another concept, this time a performance-oriented version of the 2014 Silverado regular cab.

A year ago, when Acura first announced that its RL flagship sedan was to be replaced by a new model called the RLX, the Japanese automaker rolled out a thinly-veiled concept version of the new RLX that was powered by an advanced hybrid system similar to the drivetrain destined for the new NSX sports car. Called Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, or Sport Hybrid SH-AWD for short, the new hybrid drivetrain was promised to be offered in the RLX first, and then in the NSX.

Another range-extended electric vehicle is getting closer to the market, as Via Motors' electric cargo van has moved one step nearer to production. Via says the van has now successfully passed all crash testing required before it can be put on sale.

While basing a selection of models on the same platform is nothing new these days, only MINI has managed to spin a whole range of cars off a minicar designed in the 1950s. If Fiat gets its way over the next few years, MINI won't be alone for long.

In October sales of plug-in electric cars, both Chevy and Nissan improved on their September results, but didn't come close to beating their record August sales numbers. The Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car racked up 2,022 deliveries, which is up 14 percent on September's number of 1,766.